Jalan Alor Food Street🍜: What To Expect, What To Eat And More

While there is much I love about Kuala Lumpur, I have one absolute stand-out favourite spot – Jalan Alor Food Street.

This street in the heart of KL’s Bukit Bintang area is where all my food dreams come to life.

In fact, when the sun starts to go down, I find it hard to be anywhere else in KL. There is just too much delicious Jalan Alor street food to try here that I could never get bored. Although it is always a struggle to decide whether to try something new or go with what I know and love.

Jalan Alor Food Street is a lively night market with open air tables, stalls, restaurants and more. It’s got a great vibe and it’s tons of fun. It’s located in a great central spot which makes it easy for most tourists to visit.

Below, I describe everything you need to know about this experience in my Jalan Alor Food Street blog. From what time it starts, to how to get here to the history of food street Jalan Alor and what Jalan Alor food to try, it’s all here!

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Jalan Alor Food Street Background

Surrounded by massive, modern shopping centres, this part of KL feels like you have gone back in time a little, in a good way.

It used to be the red light district – and you can still see echoes of this past if you enter the street from Changkat Bukit Bintang where there are many “massage parlours”, some of which looked a little on the “red-light” side to me.

However, it’s been cleaned up, given a face-lift and today is one of the busiest (and best!) food streets in the world.

Jalan Alor Night Market – What You’ll Find

What will you find when you arrive here? Tons and tons of Jalan Alor famous food! There are countless restaurants and stalls lining the road over about 500 metres and you aren’t going to have any problems finding something to eat.

In fact, the problem is working out what to eat when there are so many choices. It can definitely feel overwhelming on your first visit.

But take your time, walk around and take in the vibe and then you can make a decision of where to go.

There can be some pushy people “encouraging” you into some of the eating establishments as you walk down the street. Take your time and don’t feel rushed, however, and I don’t find them that annoying anyway.

The street is less busy if you come before sunset when things are getting going, but the busy vibe is part of what I love about visiting here. There’s a good mix of locals and tourists which helps make it special too.

If it’s wet when you visit, some places are undercover and some have umbrellas that partially cover the mostly outdoor eating. This can limit your choices, but can still work out fine. It has surprised me how many people still flock to the Alor street food night market even on super wet evenings – but then it also doesn’t as the rain doesn’t stop me either 🙂

Just about every place has some form of seating and it’s a strip of restaurants rather than a traditional hawker centre with small stalls and a food court area seating.

Some of the streets around here have some great street art too so keep your eyes open as you explore the entire area.

Jalan Alor Street Food – What To Taste

There is a great variety of food here with both the melting pot of cultures in Malaysia being represented here with Malay, Indian and Chinese options but also food from other places. Like there is some great Jalan Alor Thai food as well as Vietnamese.

In fact, I was surprised how many Thai restaurants are here, especially at the south-west end. Chinese food does seem to be in the majority though with Thai in #2.

Many places have English menus, but people can help you work out what to eat if there isn’t.

Make sure you bring your appetite as there will be so much you will want to try. Ideally, devote a few nights to visiting here on your itinerary so you can try many different things!

Dry Chili Chicken – RM20 (Small)

This is my pick for the best food in Jalan Alor. This dry chili chicken is, in fact, in sauce and is just so so good. Moist, good level of spice and the nice taste of basil.

OMG I LOVE IT!

You can find it at Restoran Meng Kee Grill Fish about midway through the strip.

This was a small serving but far more than I could eat. The rice cost extra.

Steamed Green-Lipped Mussels With Garlic – RM22 (Small)

There is a lot of seafood on KL food street Jalan Alor, so you have to make sure you try some!

I loved these Steamed Green-Lipped Mussels with Garlic, although I wouldn’t recommend it unless you love garlic like me.

The flavour was fantastic and I soon sucked them all down.

You can find them at Restoran Sai Woo. This was a small serving. You can order it in other sizes too.

Penang Fried Kuey Teow – RM10

This Jalan Alor best food is a fabulous option for noodle lovers. It is definitely the best char kway teow I have had.

It’s nice and moist with plenty of seafood. The best part is the crunchy sprouts which are just perfect and help to balance the texture of the food.

This is also at Restoran Sai Woo.

Thai Basil Chicken Or Chicken With Cashew – RM25

For some Thai deliciousness, I have had some great Thai Basil Chicken and Thai Chicken with Cashews. The latter was perhaps my favourite, but it was so good, I couldn’t make myself pause from eating long enough to take a photo 😀

Both were nice and moist with a great level of yummy spice. Eat them with rice and you won’t be sorry.

These dishes are from Di Thai Restaurant.

Mango Sticky Rice – RM15

One of my kids’ favourites, there is plenty of mango sticky rice on offer on Jalan Alor Food Street.

This option at Di Thai Restaurant has great rice, fresh mango, peanut and some condensed milk on the side, ready to be poured on top.

Coconut Ice Cream – RM12

I highly recommend you finish your evening with one of my absolute favourite Jalan Alor night food options – some delicious coconut ice cream. I know just the place!

My favourite one is pictured above and you can buy it at Aroy Coconut Ice Cream stand pictured below. It’s at the south-west end of Jalan Alor Food Street.

They serve it in a coconut shell which has some coconut meat remaining. You get three scoops and then you can add your own toppings from a selection

It’s just so good! Make sure you mix the coconut meat into the ice cream. I had no idea how nice coconut can taste with coconut ice cream but it’s unreal.

Jalan Alor Food Price

The food in Jalan Alor can suit all budgets. This isn’t the place for swanky restaurants, and you can save money by eating snacks at the stalls you past as you wander.

The restaurants can cost more and many of the menus are designed for sharing – so the food at Jalan Alor can be served in various sizes. I love this when I’m with my family, but when I’m travelling in KL alone, the smallest serving is plenty.

Take note that some restaurants may have extra charges so ask or look at the fine print on the menu to see if there are any charges on top of the listed prices.

Even at one of the better, sit-down restaurants, there are dishes starting around RM10. Seafood can cost a fair bit more. For my top dishes above, I share the price I paid.

Jalan Alor Food Street Kuala Lumpur Opening Hours And Location

There are no set hours for the Jalan Alor street food night market. Turning up around sunset can be your best bet, although you’ll find food from about 5pm. Some places do open during the day, but it’s just not the same as when the street is all open and crowded with food choices. It opens quite late.

If you are staying in the Bukit Bintang area, you may find you can walk here relatively easily. It took me just over 5 minutes to walk here from my hotel at PARKROYAL Collection.

You can also take the train to Bukit Bintang station and walk here in a few minutes or take a Grab taxi easily. Traffic can be bad in this area, so be warned that if you are already in the area, walking can be quicker.

If you want to have a drink after, Jalan Bukit Bintang is known for its bars and nightlife. This road connects with Jalan Alor, but you do need to walk a block or so along it past the massage parlours before you hit the bars.

Final Words

I absolutely love Jalan Alor Food Street, and if you love food, or just a lively vibe, you are sure to love it too. It’s definitely one of the most alive places I have been to in Malaysia.

I hope you have found this Jalan Alor food blog useful and that this night market gets a prominent place (or three) on your Kuala Lumpur itinerary.

Another great way to try KL’s best food while learning about the city is on a food tour. Read about Simply Enak food tours here (and get your discount code!).

Read more about Kuala Lumpur in my guide to things to do here. Need somewhere to stay? Find my full hotel review here for PARKROYAL which is just a short walk from Jalan Alor. You can also find my full travel guide to Kuala Lumpur here.

Planning a trip to Malaysia? Have any questions? Join our Malaysia Travel Planning Facebook group here now! It’s the perfect place to ask any questions and to be inspired!